Just Minutes to Midnight
by Magicstra
Summary: When Lucy's bodyguard invited her to join the new computer game, Kingdom of Fiore, she didn't know what she was expecting. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't Salamander180. When she's dragged into his world of theatre and pyrotechnics, what could possibly go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone, it's Magicstra here. So I've had this idea floating around in my head for a while now and finally decided to get it down on paper. This story will have multiple main characters.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, to my dismay**

**Warning: Rated T for some profanity**

"Take that, ice bastard", Natsu Dragneel mumbled under his breath, clicking the same button over and over again. He smirked in satisfaction as he noticed how much damage Gray was taking.

A small notice popped up on the screen of his laptop.

_Congratulations, SALAMANDER180! You have won the duel against IceDevilSlayer!_

Natsu let out a whoop of victory and pumped his fist, before quickly turning around to make sure no one had heard him. No one had, of course. His father, Igneel, was a much sought after supervisor for pyrotechnics. He travelled with bands to make sure the pyrotechnics in their shows weren't dangerous, but would be exciting enough. Natsu was proud of his dad, and had wanted to follow in his footsteps for as long as he could remember. He had agreed to be the pyrotechnician at the local theatre guild, even though he didn't have a degree in fire science. Yet, that is.

As much as he admired Igneel, he couldn't deny that the apartment could feel very empty at times. Although Romeo, the boy next door, had been coming over ever since he could walk. Natsu liked his father, Macao, but couldn't help but resent him for being- well, for being a drunken pervert at times. Macao loved his son, but didn't put much effort into parenting.

Maybe that was why he had started looking for ways to distract himself. Natsu prepared most of his own meals, so he had taught himself to cook. It was something he both did well and enjoyed. Exercise and training in martial arts also helped him fill empty hours, as well as experimenting with fire. But then Gray had introduced him to a lesser known computer game called Kingdom of Fiore. You could join guilds, battle monsters and dark guilds, and so on.

His theatre guild had decided to play as well, and they decided to form a guild together. Natsu grinned. Their guild was pretty infamous for having talented players that were near unbeatable in a duel. Being with his friends, even in a virtual world, made him feel a little less alone in their spacious apartment. Though, Natsu thought to himself, you couldn't really tell it was spacious with the way they half-assed the cleaning. Scratch that, they _never _bothered to really clean.

A loud _ping _brought his attention back to the screen. Gray had sent him a message, which he opened curiously.

**IceDevilSlayer: Not bad, flamebrain, even though you just got lucky. My computer was probably slow or something.**

Natsu grinned. Despite their constant bickering, they were actually good friends. Though Natsu would sooner burn down his entire apartment complex than admit it.

Or preferably, Gray's entire apartment complex.

**Salamander180: Fire always beats ice, snow cone. And I don't need luck as long as I'm fighting you.**

**IceDevilSlayer: rematch?**

**Salamander180: I'm all fired up!**

**IceDevilSlayer: Dude, you need a better catchphrase**

**Salamander180: Go to hell, you stripper**

Natsu stretched and yawned loudly, before settling down in front of the computer again and smirking. He would pound the health out of that ice bastard.

Lucy Heartfilia was restless. It was hot day, and her school uniform was sticking to her back. Across the room, Lucy's friend Yukino caught her eye and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"So you can see, Claudette Colvin was arrested for the same offense as Rosa Parks, but her case was far less publicized." Ms. Law, a chubby woman in her twenties explained. Ms. Law was a good teacher, who made an effort to be kind to all her students and occasionally went off on long rants that, while irrelevant, were very entertaining and informative. She was easily the youngest teacher in all of Magnolia Academy.

Magnolia Academy was easily one of the most prestigious, yet old-fashioned schools in the state. Only the very wealthy could afford to come here. Lucy Heartfilia had been sent here only last year, in order to learn skills a tutor couldn't teach her.

It had been difficult at first to adjust to this new lifestyle. The school bell rang at six each morning, and the students were served an excellent breakfast in the dining hall. Three hours of lessons preceded lunch, which was followed by five hours more of lessons. Students then were free to do other activities and homework.

Despite the very precise schedule, Lucy felt almost free here. Her father lived in a city an hour away, so he couldn't try to engage her to a wealthy man of his choosing. Arranged marriages weren't exactly commonplace, so it was never referred to as one. Rather, it was her father helping her find someone suitable that she would marry when she was eighteen. That's how she was supposed to think of it, anyway.

Lucy glanced at the girl beside her who, she noticed, was sweating more than she was. Lucy smiled in amusement. It was like the girl was made of water.

Juvia Lockser was the only scholarship student in the entire academy, and had felt to be as much of an outcast as Lucy did. Their mutual despair had formed an unbreakable bond between the two girls.

Yukino Aguria, who seemed as impervious to the heat as always, was the opposite. With her sweet personality, she was loved by the majority of the school. When Lucy had accidentally found out about her problems at home, she had quickly become a good friend of both Lucy and Juvia. Lucy bit her lip and looked down, thinking about how scared Yukino had been. It wasn't something she liked to remember.

"Miss Heartfilia? Are you feeling alright?" Ms. Law asked, pausing the lesson. Lucy's head shot up quickly.

"Yes, sorry." She said guiltily, feeling bad about dozing off. Ms. Law frowned slightly.

"Are you sure? You look a little flushed."

_That's because of this damned heat._

"I'm fine, thank you. There's no cause for concern." Lucy reassured her. Ms. Law frowned for a moment more, before returning to her lesson.

"All right, then. Now, Claudette Clovin and Rosa Parks were not the only two arrested for this." Ms. Law continued her lecture, turning to write on the whiteboard.

Lucy pushed some of her sweat soaked blonde hair behind her ear, where it hadn't been able to stay pinned back. She glanced over at Juvia and Yukino, who were both immersed with their note taking. With the constant threat of marriage, her increasing schoolwork, and constant pressure from society in general, her friends were often what got her through each day.

Lucy began copying off of the board without really paying attention to what she was writing. It was going to be a long, stressful day. And the heat wouldn't make it any better. She couldn't take this anymore.

The loud buzz of a school bell cut into Ms. Law's lecture, making the students that had been dozing off sit up straight. Lucy was one of the first out of her seat, grabbing her school bag and slinging it over one shoulder.

She waited for Juvia and Yukino in the hallway, stopping quickly to check her phone. A notification on her lockscreen informs her she has an email from someone not in her contacts.

Frowning, she clicked on it.

_You've been invited to join Kingdom of Fiore by LeotheLion! Kingdom of Fiore is a computer game set in the fictional country Fiore, where mages, merchants, treasure hunters, and so much more come together. Create an avatar and start your free trial today!_

Lucy smiled. LeotheLion was her bodyguard back home, Loke. He was also her friend, and knew her better than almost everyone she knew. If he thought she would enjoy it, she probably would.

A tap on her shoulder startled her, and she spun around. Juvia and Yukino stood behind her, waiting to go to their next class.

"Lucy? What do you have there?" Yukino asked curiously. Lucy showed the invitation to the two girls.

"Loke sent this to me. You think I should join?" Lucy asked them, waiting them to finish reading it.

"Oh, well if _Loke_ invited you…" Yukino teased her. "How could you say no?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "For God's sake, Yukino, it's not like that!"

Still, it sounded interesting. What was there to lose?

**I expect the chapters will be longer after this. It's been awhile since I've written a multichapter story, so I'm pretty excited for this. Mind leaving a review with your thoughts? Thanks for reading!**

**Also, Ms. Law is Risley Law from Mermaid Heel.**

_**Magicstra**_


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy put a few numbers into her calculator, frowning. Her teachers seemed to have assigned her less homework than normal, to her relief, but it was still an unpleasant amount.

The dimming sunlight streaming in from the window illuminated her laptop, and Lucy glanced at it wistfully. She still had another page or two of math, and Ms. Law was expecting an essay tomorrow, which Lucy was only halfway through with.

It was getting darker outside, and Lucy reached to turn on the light. Her roommates, Juvia and Yukino, were at the library together in a study group, which Lucy had decided to stay back from to finish her essay. The two girls had tried to convince her to come, but it hadn't worked.

Again, her eyes were drawn to her laptop.

"No, Lucy." She reprimanded herself, laughing slightly because she sounded like Juvia. "This is due tomorrow."

She returned to the math, frowning slightly. She really didn't understand this concept at all, and it was taking her ages.

Surely a little break couldn't hurt.

Lucy opened her laptop, turning it on. She went to her emails and clicked on the most recent one.

You've been invited to join Kingdom of Fiore by LeotheLion! Kingdom of Fiore is a computer game set in the fictional country Fiore, where mages, merchants, treasure hunters, and so much more come together. Create an avatar and start your free trial today!

She selected the large red "Get Started" button, which opened up her web browser and took her to the site to download the game from. Just downloading it would cost her, and the website informed her a membership would have to be paid for monthly. She felt no guilt when she bought it, automatically sending the bill to one of her father's credit cards. Her material wants were always satisfied, so her father's accountants would think nothing of it.

Select your career! The screen flashed, suggesting a large number of careers. Treasure hunter, merchant, adventurer, soldier- Lucy stopped there, selecting "mage".

"Maybe if I'm a mage, I can magic all my problems away." She said to herself wryly, before turning around to check no one heard her. The room was still empty.

Select your magic type! It suggested now, coming up with a long list of magic. It was sorted by alphabetical order. Absorption, acid, air, archive... None of them particularly appealed to her. She continued to scroll down the list, stopping momentarily to consider card magic. In the end, she decided not. A large Randomize! button was near the top, and she clicked it out of curiosity.

Hair magic? She wasn't sure she even wanted to know what that was. Illusion magic? Sounded interesting, but not really her thing. Takeover sounded alright, but not really what she was looking for. She clicked the button one more time.

Celestial Spirit Magic. It felt like someone had punched her in the stomach, as memories, both good and bad, came flooding back. She gripped the edge of her shirt tightly, and could feel her nails through the expensive fabric. She took a deep breath, and raised one hand to put it back on the mouse. She selected it quickly, and tilted her head up towards the ceiling.

"That's what you'd choose, isn't it, Mama?" She said softly, quickly brushing off a single tear that had escaped and was dripping down her cheek. "I shouldn't cry."

The design of her avatar was next, moving her focus away from the painful memories. Lucy gave it her medium length blonde hair, brown eyes, and skin tone, though she made her eyes larger so they looked like they belonged to an anime character. Her clothing wasn't difficult to decide. All her life, she'd been forced into elaborate, but always modest, dresses. She'd always been warned the revealing clothing would make the media kick up a fuss and call it a scandal. Really, there was no pleasing them.

So she selected the shortest skirt she could find, and a top that exposed her navel. Her shoes were tall leather boots that reached her knees. Even if it was virtual, she felt like for the first time, she was rebelling. She was wearing the clothes that girls casually, the clothes she'd always been warned against.

Lucy clicked the "Done" button and the spinning wheel of death, or loading sign, popped up. She tapped her fingers impatiently on the desk she was sitting at, waiting for it. It finally finished, and a new notice replaced it on screen.

In order to become a fully fledged mage, you must join a guild! Remember, you must have the guild Master's permission to join. Join a guild or start a new one today!

Lucy clicked "Cancel", not sure of what else to do. She didn't know what guild would accept her, and doubted anyone would join if she started a new one. For now, she would just wait and see.

She wanted to explore this new world, but could hear soft laughter in the hallway. She went quiet and listened again. There was no doubt it was Yukino's gentle laughter. Lucy guiltily shut her laptop and returned to the math problems she had been working on, not wanting her roommates to see her procrastinating when she hadn't gone to study group.

She could try asking Loke about it when she saw him next.

Juvia and Yukino walked in, both dropping their book bags on a chair.

"Did you get any work done, Lucy?" Yukino asked, sitting down on her bed and stretching.

Lucy looked down guiltily. "Not really. I started playing that Kingdom of Fiore game."

Both girls looked up in surprise.

"The one that Loke said you should join?" Yukino asked. Lucy nodded her confirmation.

"Well, Yukino and Juvia will play too!" Juvia announced, reaching into her bag and pulling out her laptop. Lucy had never quite gotten used to her roommate's habit of referring to herself in third person. She had always attributed it to a cultural thing, because Juvia had been born and grown up in another country, but now wondered if there was something more behind. Could Juvia have once been so lonely she had spoken to herself like this?

Yukino nodded. Lucy shrugged and pulled Juvia's laptop towards her.

"You just have to download this, and then pay, which you can use my credit card for, and then there! Now you just need to create an avatar." Lucy said, handing Juvia's laptop back to her and repeating the process with Yukino's.

Gildarts Clive hadn't been expecting much when he agreed to take up the position of wrestling team's coach at Magnolia High, but that was when Erza Scarlet joined.

He had seen some very able wrestlers. Laxus Dreyar, who had graduated the year before, had been extremely talented but had chose to pursue a career in electrical engineering. His antisocial tendencies had made him unpopular on the team. Elfman was in his final year, and despite his muscular physique, could never seem to focus long enough to come up with a strategy to defeat his opponent.

Erza was smart, strong, and dedicated. Even though she missed a few practices and meets due to her theatre guild duties, she surpassed almost all of them. So when Gildarts saw her walk on the mat, long scarlet hair tied in a ponytail and gym shorts displaying most of her thigh, he decided to give her a bit of challenge today.

A quick scan of the paper attached to his clipboard helped him decide exactly how. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and held it over the paper, poised to write.

"Scarlet!" He yelled, just as she began jogging to warm up. "Come over here!"

She turned around and started jogging towards him instead.

"Yes, Coach Clive?" Erza asked jokingly. He'd been a fatherly figure towards her ever since she was young, so the title was a bit of an inside joke between them.

"You're wrestling Macbeth today." He told her, pointing to an older boy with a dramatically made up face taking a drink from the water fountain. "As soon as he takes off the make up!"

Macbeth raised his head and scowled in annoyance. "I've told you before, it's Midnight! And why should I have to take it off?"

Gildarts clicked his pen in annoyance. "Because this is wrestling! Wear it as much as you want at school, but not for sports!"

Still scowling, Midnight washed off the make up and took his place on the mat used for practice matches, his usual bored look on his face.

"Ready to begin?" Erza asked, slightly unnerved by his lack of expression, but also grateful for it. She was the only female on Magnolia High's wrestling team and was used to most of the boys she wrestled being awkward or acting strange around her. Or downright perverted. So having someone not react to the fact she had boobs was a welcome change.

He nodded and got into position, with his arms out in front of him, ready to defend himself against her attack.

Erza lunged first like she always did, wrapping her arms around his knees and bringing him to the mat. Making the first move always gave her an advantage, because again, most guys were less willing to wrestle her. Before she could pin him, he had slipped out of her grasp and gotten back on his feet.

Gildarts nodded approvingly from where he stood. "Nice one, Macbeth."

"It's Midnight." He muttered irritably, getting back in his stance. This time, he lunged at Erza, but she was able to hold him off with one hand. She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his legs, slamming him into the mat with her on top.

The mat smelled of sweat and dirty clothes, just like it always did. Despite the uncleanliness of the gym, Erza had felt at home from the moment she had walked in with her head held high, all the way back in middle school. This was her place to shine. Even the woody smell of a stage couldn't compare to this.

"You're not escaping this time." She muttered, slipping one hand under his head and keeping him pinned to the mat. Gildarts counted the seconds before nodding and blowing his whistle.

"Good job Macbeth, you've improved. Great job as always Erza, but you might want to work on keeping your opponent pinned to the mat, he almost escaped the second time as well."

Midnight nodded and turned away quickly, and Erza could have sworn she saw a tear form in his eye. Probably just her imagination.

"I will." She assured him, checking the time on her phone. "I have to leave early, we've got a performance tonight."

"I noticed." Gildarts said dryly, gesturing towards the large, flashy poster on the wall. "Wish the Fairy Tail Theatre Guild luck from me."


End file.
